No more lies
by poppylouise
Summary: Ethan has had enough of Sutton's spoilt behaviour and thinks she needs to learn her lesson. Could that actually be what Sutton wants?
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first fic so apologies in advance for any newbie mistakes. Reviews would be very much appreciated. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. This fic features spanking, including parental spanking of a teenager. If that's not your thing, please move right along.**

Chapter 1

"I can't believe they arrested Alec right in the middle of his vows," Emma murmered, picking at the embroidery on Sutton's bedspread.

"You've already said that," came Sutton's retort. "Might be time to get some new conversation fodder, _sis._"

"How very civil you are," Ethan said from beside the window. He was leaning against the wall, arms crossed, wondering whether to stick around or just take off. He didn't know what the deal was with Emma and Sutton any more.

"Anyway," Sutton said, "_I_ can't believe a certain superstar sheriff didn't show up with the cuffs until _after_ they finished the I Dos. Well done big brother Dan! Don't you-"

"That's enough, Sutton!" Emma snapped.

So the girl did have a spine, after all, thought Sutton. "Oh really?" she replied. "And what are you going to do, exactly? Throw me out of my own bedroom? Go running to _my_ mom, who doesn't even know _you _exist?"

"Right, except she's not _your_ mom, either, not really." The words flew out of Emma's mouth before she could stop them. She was shocked at herself; she was never normally that cruel. She had clearly been walking in Sutton's shoes for far too long.

"Girls, that is enough!" Ethan slammed his hand down on Sutton's desk, making both girls jump. They stared at him in surprise and shock. Ethan was moody, sure, but it was all an act. Really, he was as gentle as a lamb. Wasn't he?

Except his usual broody demeanour was pure sunshine compared to the look on his face right now. Eyes blazing, he was clearly fuming. Even Sutton seemed lost for words.

"Kristen and Laurel will be back from dinner soon. Someone needs to be here – Emma, I suggest that's you, because Sutton and I need to have a little chat. And if either of you wants to see me ever again, you won't even think about arguing."

He looked from one twin to the other. They were both staring at him as if he'd grown a second head.

Sutton found her voice first. "Sounds kind of... intimate," she said. "Are you quite _sure_ you don't mean to have this little chat with Emma?"

"Seriously, Sutton, that's enough," Ethan said. "Did your parents never teach you when to stop?"

"I guess not," Sutton smirked.

"I guess I'll see you later then." Ethan was talking to Emma now, but she was staring straight ahead, as if she was super fascinated by the lid of Sutton's Macbook. She said nothing as Ethan and Sutton walked out of the room. After all, what was left to say?


	2. Chapter 2

**This is my first fic so apologies in advance for any newbie mistakes. Reviews would be very much appreciated. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. This fic features spanking, including parental spanking of a teenager. If that's not your thing, please move right along.**

Chapter 2

You could practically see the steam coming out of Ethan's ears, Sutton chuckled to herself as the car sped through darkened streets.

Not that she dared say it, mind. Sutton might be as bold as brass, but even she could see it was best to keep it zipped for the time being – much as she wanted to discuss this little rendez-vous they were apparently having.

Which appeared to be happening at chez Whitehorse, she realised, as Ethan parked and got out. Ru-ude, thought Sutton, until she realised he had walked around to the passenger side and was now holding the door open.

"Aren't you going to say please?"

"Sutton, I'm tired of this." Ethan rubbed his forehead, a pained look on his face. "Do you never get sick of putting on this act? Or is this actually all there is to you?"

"What do you mean, all there is?"

She was planning to just refuse to do anything he said, to stay in the car and make things difficult, but Sutton was curious now.

Not to mention kind of ticked off. As if she was somehow lacking. As if her popularity didn't speak for itself.

"Please get out of the car, Sutton."

Sutton let out a melodramatic sigh and swung her Marc Jacobs t-straps out of Ethan's car. She watched as Ethan turned on his heel and marched toward the trailer. She didn't have to follow, but she wanted to know just why Ethan's panties were in such a twist.

A few minutes later, Sutton sat on Ethan's couch as he busied himself finding drinks. As she took the soda he was offering, she expected him to sit down beside her, but he stood against the opposite wall instead, arms folded, brow furrowed.

"Hey Whitehorse, chill out. You know what they say about the wind changing."

"Sutton, I wasn't kidding. I've had enough. I am going to talk now, and you are going to listen."

Sutton started to get up, amazed that Ethan thought he could speak to her like that, but something stopped her.

Maybe it was the blazing fury in Ethan's eyes. Or maybe it was just the burning curiosity as to what, exactly, he was going to say.

"Okay then, Ethan, I'll listen." She leaned back and made a big show of getting comfy on the sofa. Ethan said nothing for quite some time.

She wanted to tell him to spit it out, but somehow that would feel like losing. So she waited until, at long last, he began to speak.

"Sutton, you're lucky that Ted and Kristen adopted you. You've had a much better childhood than I did, and you've definitely had a better time of it than Emma. They did a great job of spoiling you, but they didn't do such a good job of raising you."

Sutton opened her mouth to interject, then decided to wait a little longer.

"The way you speak to your parents, to your sister – to both your sisters – and to everyone else is disgusting, and it's been that way for as long as I can remember. And why do you do it? Because you can. Because your parents never taught you any proper respect. If I had dared to behave the way you do, Sutton, my father would have had his belt off faster than you can say: spoilt brat."

"Your father belted you?"

"Sometimes," Ethan said. "When he was around. I usually deserved it. Something tells me you've never experienced anything resembling proper discipline, Sutton. What do your parents do? Ground you, then take it back a few days later? Lucky you, but it's not so great for everyone who has to put up with you."

Sutton said nothing. How could she tell Ethan the truth? How could she tell Ethan that she was... jealous?


	3. Chapter 3

**This is my first fic so apologies in advance for any newbie mistakes. Reviews would be very much appreciated. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. This fic features spanking, including parental spanking of a teenager. If that's not your thing, please move right along.**

Chapter 3

People always thought Sutton had it easy. Her parents never disciplined her, not really. Sure, they sometimes said: "Sutton, don't do that!" or grounded her, but they were weak. They lifted groundings early if she simpered enough, and they certainly never insisted on respect or good manners.

"You're so lucky," Mads had once told her after the pair of them were busted stealing lipsticks from the drugstore. "I can't believe you got off so lightly."

Sutton had been grounded. Inconvenient, sure, but hardly the end of the world – especially when she just ignored it and sneaked out anyway. They hadn't even taken her mobile phone away.

Things hadn't been so easy for Mads. She hadn't gone into any detail about exactly what had happened, but Sutton could work it out easily enough from the way Mads winced when she sat down in class. She wanted to ask questions – what happened, how much did it hurt, what were the marks like? She already knew what Alec could be like. But Mads didn't realise how much Sutton knew.

Alec's temper was an open secret among Sutton, Mads and their friends. They had all witnessed him shouting at Mads, or roughly grabbing her by the arm. They knew what it was to comfort her after a bad day, or to pointedly ignore a bruise.

Because what could they do, really? Sure, they could tell someone. And if they were believed, what then? Mads didn't want to go into some cruddy foster home, Sutton knew that much. They hardly spoke about it but, when they did, Mads was clear: she didn't want anyone to know.

But she didn't know how much Sutton had actually seen.

It was summertime and Mads had thrown a party. Everyone was hanging out in the back garden. Sutton needed the toilet, but the downstairs bathroom was engaged. That must be where Mads was, Sutton thought, realising she hadn't seen her friend for the past ten minutes or so.

Mads had told them to stick to using the downstairs bathroom, as Alec didn't like her friends making noise upstairs. But Sutton didn't fancy hanging around until whoever-it-was bothered to finish their business, so she tiptoed up the stairs.

Halfway along the hallway, she heard voices – and froze.

"We shouldn't be having this conversation again," Alec was saying. "I've told you enough times."

"I know, I'm sorry, I-"

"You will be sorry," Alec said.

There was a pause, and then Sutton heard the crack of leather hitting skin. Heard Mads gasp, but without yelling or screaming. This clearly wasn't the first time she'd participated in this particular ritual.

Sutton froze, listening. Crack. Crack. Crack.

"It's a shame that you made me do this," Alec was saying.

Sutton had always wanted to ask Mads what she had done wrong that time, but she couldn't let on that she had heard.

That, and she wanted to ask how it felt.

Because while she felt sorry for Mads, while she found Alec terrifying and thought it repulsive that he beat his daughter, she couldn't help feeling jealous of the fact that, well, at least he actually bothered to draw a line – and to do something when she crossed it.

Sometimes she wished Ted and Kristen would bother. She would never have admitted it to anyone, but there were times when Sutton imagined what it would be like if Ted was just a bit more like Alec.

If, instead of saying: "Now, don't be rude, Sutton," he said: "That's enough, young lady. Do you want me to take my belt off?"

But Ted never bothered to discipline her, not properly. Apparently Ethan's father wasn't so lacking in that department, and Sutton had to admit it: she envied him.


	4. Chapter 4

**This is my first fic so apologies in advance for any newbie mistakes. Reviews would be very much appreciated. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. This fic is about characters from the TV show The Lying Game, not the books, and features spanking, including parental spanking of a teenager. If that's not your thing, please move right along.**

Chapter 4

Ethan was surprised by Sutton's silence. What with his criticisms of Ted and Kristen's parenting, and the things he had just revealed about his own upbringing, he was fully expecting her to start mouthing off.

After all, this was Sutton Mercer: the girl had a smart mouth, and she wasn't afraid to use it. Which was the whole problem, Ethan thought wryly. He couldn't believe Ted and Kristen put up with her attitude.

It was one thing for a kid to test their parents and push the boundaries, but Sutton didn't care to pay attention to boundaries. But then, Ethan figured, nobody was teaching her where they were, or making her respect them.

Sure, Ted and Kristen cared about Sutton. They just didn't care to be _parents_, instead of trying to be her friend. From what Ethan could see, they gave her everything she wanted, indulged her at every turn, then wondered why she acted like a selfish, spoiled brat.

"Tell me something," Ethan said. "Have your parents ever actually disciplined you properly?"

"Which means what, exactly? Whether they've thrashed me and locked me in a tower?"

"I'm just wondering if they've ever given you a punishment that actually made you feel remorseful, rather than just half-heartedly grounding you."

Sutton let out a wry laugh. "Of course they haven't! Don't you get it, Ethan? They can't be bothered. They want everything to be perfect – they want _me_ to be perfect – without any effort needed on their part. Sure, they're always buying me stuff. My life is just super peachy. But you can't buy respect. Oh, hey, Sutton, we spend all our money on you so could you please just be a model daughter now? Oh, wait, you're not. Well, _that_ doesn't fit into our vision of the perfect cookie-cutter life."

"I get it," Ethan said. "But you're 17, not seven. You're a bit old to be throwing tantrums. At the end of the day, you're basically punishing your parents for being too nice to you. Maybe you should try being a bit more grateful."

"Funnily enough, that's exactly what my dad said."

"What your dad said when?" Ethan was intrigued. If Ted had said that, he didn't exactly seem to have done anything to reinforce it.

Sutton leaned forward, and spoke almost in a whisper.

"The one time he tried to spank me."

Ethan certainly hadn't seen that one coming.


	5. Chapter 5

**This is my first fic so apologies in advance for any newbie mistakes. Reviews would be very much appreciated. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. This fic is about characters from the TV show The Lying Game, not the books, and features spanking, including parental spanking of a teenager. If that's not your thing, please move right along.**

Chapter 5

"What do you mean, he _tried_ to spank you?"

Sutton sighed. "Ethan, do you really want to hear the gory details? Does that excite you or something?"

Ethan decided to ignore the wisecrack. "Only if you want to tell me," he said, sitting down next to Sutton on the sofa and putting his hand on her arm. "Look, Sutton, I know you put on this hard act, but I'm pretty sure there's a real person with feelings in there – somewhere.

_Or at least I hope there is,_ he thought.

"It was Alec's idea," Sutton told him.

Now Ethan was really intrigued. He said nothing, but motioned for Sutton to keep talking.

"I overheard them talking," she explained. "At the country club, about three years ago. They didn't know I was listening. Alec was telling Dad that he shouldn't put up with it – with me. That he should really think about taking me down a peg or two."

Ethan couldn't help thinking that Alec had a point.

"He was asking my dad if he'd ever thought about spanking me. He told him: 'You know I've dished out a few good hidings in my time. They're not too old for it now, if the situation warrants it.' Although he forgot to mention the fact that he's totally abusive. Mads is terrified of him. A lot of the time, he's just mean."

"And what did your dad say to that?"

"He said: 'Ted, the way you run your family is your own business. You know I've always said that. But I don't think that approach would be right for us with Sutton.' And you know what Alec did? He laughed at him. Told him the approach he was taking didn't exactly seem to be working, so maybe he should think about trying a new one."

"To be honest, Sutton, I have to say I agree with him."

"Mm, yeah. He's just a model of perfect parenting, isn't he?"

Ah, there was that mouth again. Ethan had almost missed it during the few minutes Sutton had spent being practically civil.

"So, what happened after that?" Ethan was wildly curious, but he needed to stay cool. If Sutton realised he was dying to know what had happened, she would probably stop talking purely to piss him off.

"I heard him discussing it with my mom," Sutton said. "Of course, she hit the roof at the mere idea of it. She was all: 'Even if I believed in corporal punishment, which I absolutely don't, Sutton is 14! You can't hit a 14-year-old. That's absurd.' Then she started going on about how spanking is lazy parenting, which is kind of ironic really."

"You do a lot of eavesdropping, don't you, Sutton?" Ethan remarked.

"Do you want to hear the rest of this or not?" Sutton didn't wait for an answer before she continued. "My dad listened to all of that. And then he said: 'I hear what you're saying, really I do. But I'm tired of being an emotional punchbag. I'm tired of having our daughter treat us like crap – because she doesn't respect us.'"

"'And you think you can just beat some respect into her, do you?' Kristen asked. 'You think that's going to fix everything? Even if I actually thought beating our daughter was the answer, I'm pretty sure Sutton would phone CPS the second you tried.'"

"And did you?" Ethan asked.

"Did I what?"

"You said your dad _tried_ to spank you. Did he stop because you called CPS?"

Ethan figured she must have threatened to call them. Her dad would have backed off and never tried again. So he got the shock of his life when he heard Sutton's answer.

"No, that's not why. I wanted him to do it. It was Laurel who made him stop."


	6. Chapter 6

**This is my first fic so apologies in advance for any newbie mistakes. Reviews would be very much appreciated. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. This fic is about characters from the TV show The Lying Game, not the books, and features spanking, including parental spanking of a teenager. If that's not your thing, please move right along.**

Chapter 6

Ethan was stunned. "You – you _wanted_ him to do it?"

"Don't look so surprised, Ethan. You said it yourself: nobody bothers to reinforce any boundaries where I'm concerned. I guess I kept pushing to see if someone would actually bother to do something about it. And when he did, I was kind of relieved."

Ethan was amazed. _He_ knew the girl was crying out for someone to discipline her. But he hadn't expected her to have realised it herself – let alone to actually _want_ someone to take her in hand.

"A couple of weeks went by after that, and I figured nothing more was going to come of it. Then, one night, we were having dinner and I said something pretty rude to my dad, although it wasn't any worse than usual."

"What did you say?" Ethan demanded, then watched in amazement as Sutton turned bright red. Sutton Mercer, feeling ashamed? He never thought he'd live to see the day.

"I'm not proud, okay, Ethan? I told him to go fuck himself. I can't remember why. It's not like I hadn't said it before, but this time it was different. Instead of sighing and saying: 'Why can't you just be nice, Sutton?' or 'Let's just have a pleasant meal,' he banged his fist down on the table so all the glassware shook. And then he started yelling."

"'I have had enough of this! I work hard to give you girls everything you want, and what thanks do I get? I'm sick of it, Sutton. It stops here.' Then my mom put her hand on his arm and started telling him to calm down. 'Why should I calm down, Kristen? We're raising a brat. It's nothing to be proud of.' So then I tried to interject."

Sutton didn't want to tell Ethan what she had actually said next. She felt ashamed, recalling it now. How she had got to her feet and said: _Wow, thanks dad. I guess you picked the wrong baby when you adopted me, because this one turned out to be kind of faulty, according to you. Unless __you're__ the ones who are at fault, of course. I mean, way to go dad, great parenting as ever._

Ethan was silent, waiting for her to continue.

"He shouted at me to get to my room – and not to even _think_ about sneaking out. He said he would deal with me later. Something about the way he said it made me think he _really_ wasn't kidding around, and I was kind of curious to see how he handled it, so I did what he said."

"Curious?" Ethan shook his head, surveying Sutton in amazement. "Your dad's yelling at you to go to your room because he's angry and disappointed, and your reaction is to feel _curious_?"

Sutton shrugged. "What can I say. It was the most energy he'd put into parenting me in quite some time."

"So, are you saying your mom changed her mind about letting him spank you?" Ethan couldn't resist asking. He was trying to be patient, but Sutton was taking ages to get to the point.

"Not exactly, no. I didn't hear the rest of the conversation, but Laurel filled me in later on. Apparently my dad started muttering about how he was thinking of taking Alec's advice. Mom told him to stop talking about it, saying they shouldn't discuss it right now. That my dad should _just try talking to me,_ like I'm a fluffy little bunny."

"Mom had to go out after dinner, to some charity fundraising meeting. Something to do with children or cancer, I think – you know how she likes to change the world from the comfort of her designer-clad life."

"Your mom's a good person, Sutton, even if she hasn't managed to tame you," Ethan said.

"Tame me! Ha! What, like I'm some wild animal you have to trap? What are you planning to do, Ethan, turn me into a fur coat? Or are you just trying to bring out my wild side?"

Ethan started getting to his feet. "I knew you couldn't stay civil for long," he muttered.

"Ethan, stop, please." Sutton swallowed. She wasn't used to letting people so far in, and she didn't want to stop now she'd started telling the story. "Please, Ethan, I'd like to tell you the rest."


	7. Chapter 7

**This is my first fic so apologies in advance for any newbie mistakes. Reviews would be very much appreciated. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. This fic is about characters from the TV show The Lying Game, not the books, and features spanking, including parental spanking of a teenager. If that's not your thing, please move right along.**

Chapter 7

"So your mom went out?"

"Yeah. And I sat in my bedroom and waited for a frigging eternity until my dad bothered to come _talk_ to me."

They were really going to have to do something about Sutton's mouth, Ethan thought to himself.

"You know, my dad used to make me go to my room and wait for him," he told Sutton. "The difference being that I knew what was coming."

"Which was what – the belt?" Sutton asked.

"Sometimes, yeah. Occasionally he sent me to cut a switch," he added, then watched as Sutton winced. "So I didn't feel _curious_ about what was coming. I felt ashamed of screwing up, or mad at my dad if I thought he was being unfair, and I'd be dreading what was coming and wanting it to be over with – because the waiting was actually the worst part."

"Why would you let him do it if you thought he was being unfair?"

Ethan stared at Sutton. "You really don't get it, do you? In your family, you're in charge. You lord it over your parents and no-one can stop you. It's not like that in every house. Some of us actually fear our parents, and I'm not sure that's such a bad thing."

"Oh really," said Sutton, a wry smile playing on her lips. "So you think it's really great that Mads is blatantly terrified of Alec?"

"No, of course I don't." _Stay calm,_ Ethan thought to himself. _It's not going to help matters if you lose your rag._ "But there is such a thing as healthy fear of authority."

"That's pretty hilarious coming from you."

"Mm-hmm. Seven."

"Seven? Seven _what?_"

"That's the seventh time you've mouthed off to me since we left your house," Ethan said. He was smiling, but he didn't exactly look amused.

"You've been counting?"

"It would seem that way, yes. Let's just say I thought the information might come in handy later." Ethan leaned forward and brushed a lock of hair out of Sutton's eyes. "Before you add an eighth remark to that list, let me just be clear – I'm not looking for a repeat performance of what happened at the ranch. I don't want to rekindle things with you, Sutton. But I do care about you, very much, and I'm sick of seeing you hurt everyone around you. You're just going to end up hurting yourself."

To Ethan's surprise, Sutton threw her head back and laughed.

"You think it's funny that I care about you?"

"No, it's not that," Sutton said, wiping her eyes. "It's just that you sound exactly like my dad. _You're hurting everyone around you and you'll just end up hurting yourself._"

"You don't agree?"

Sutton shrugged. And then, to Ethan's complete surprise, her face crumpled and – wow – was that actually a tear running down her cheek? Although, of course, this was Sutton Mercer. She might well be faking it.

"I know he's a good guy, Ethan. I hear myself mouthing off to him and I hate myself for it. I wonder why I can't stop."

Ethan had to admit it: the tears looked real. And he didn't think she was upset by the memory of whatever happened next – she actually seemed to feel bad about her behaviour.

"So why don't you stop?"

"Because I find myself hating him for not doing anything about it, for just taking it, for sitting there and expecting me to be perfect, then going into denial when I'm not."

_Because you're waiting for someone to make you stop,_ Ethan thought to himself.

"Of course I felt bad when I sat there waiting for him, but I didn't think anything would happen. Boy, was I wrong."


	8. Chapter 8

**This is my first fic so apologies in advance for any newbie mistakes. Reviews would be very much appreciated. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. This fic is about characters from the TV show The Lying Game, not the books, and features spanking, including parental spanking of a teenager. If that's not your thing, please move right along.**

Chapter 8

Sutton had been sitting in her room for almost an hour, flicking through a glossy magazine and wondering when Ted would bother coming to deal with her – whatever that meant anyway. She had briefly recalled his conversation with Alec but, somehow, she didn't actually expect him to take that particular piece of advice.

But she kind of wanted him to. Sutton would have died before she admitted it to anyone, but she had found herself wondering what it would be like if he did. How it would feel. How she would feel afterwards. Because she couldn't help thinking he should have done something about her behaviour ages ago, instead of being such a pathetic pushover.

The knock at the door startled Sutton – she had been deep in thought.

"Do come _in,_ daddy dearest," she said.

"Save it, Sutton," Ted said as he walked into the room and leaned against Sutton's desk. He looked really tired, Sutton thought as she closed her magazine and made a big show of settling down to listen.

"You know, your mom wanted to bring a tray of food up to you – because you didn't finish your dinner, and you might still be hungry. I happen to think we pay a bit too much attention to Sutton Mercer's feelings in this house, while you don't ever stop to consider how other people might feel. If you're hungry, it's your own fault and you'll just have to wait. You chose to behave badly at the dinner table, and you assumed there wouldn't be any consequences."

"That's because there usually aren't any," Sutton couldn't help saying.

"Seriously, Sutton, quit mouthing off."

"I'm not mouthing off!" Sutton exclaimed. "There aren't usually any consequences – I'm just telling it like it is."

Ted sighed. "Well, that's certainly true. Thing is, Sutton, I'm not so sure you're actually happy about that. I'm starting to think you're crying out for some discipline."

He launched into some speech about how she was hurting everyone around her and would just end up hurting herself. Sutton was only half-listening. She'd heard it all before, hadn't she?

"So it's up to you," Ted was saying. "Your mother thinks I should _talk_ to you. I hate to undermine your mom, but I think we're way past the point of talking about it. Your godfather thinks I should let my belt do the talking – in fact, he offered to have a bit of a conversation with you himself. Said I should send you to him and he'd straighten you out. I have to admit I thought about taking him up on it."

What the hell? Sutton gaped at her father. He couldn't be serious.

"Ah, so I've actually got your attention now," Ted said. "Look, Sutton, I'm not going to send you to Alec. I don't think that would be appropriate. But I do think he has a point."

"So, what, you're going to belt me now, are you?" Sutton sounded bolder than she felt. That wasn't going to happen, surely? It was about as likely as Ted telling her he'd decided to dye his hair pink and join a vegan commune.

Ted paused, as if psyching himself up. "No," he said eventually, "I'm not going to belt you. But I am going to use a hairbrush, if that's the choice you make."

Sutton gaped at him. She didn't know what choice he meant, but she couldn't seem to find her voice to ask him.

"Two options, Sutton. You can apologise now, tell me what you did wrong and how you're going to improve in the future, and that will be the end of it – this time."

"And if I don't apologise?" Then you'll beat me, Sutton thought, is that it?

"You heard what I said." Ted pointed to the wooden hairbrush that was sitting on Sutton's dressing table. "So, what's it going to be? Are you going to apologise?"

So he was trying to wuss out even now, Sutton thought. If she said sorry, all would be forgiven. There would be no consequences, as ever. No actual parenting.

"No, I'm not," Sutton said. Then, to Ted's amazement, she walked over to the dresser and handed him the hairbrush.


	9. Chapter 9

**This is my first fic so apologies in advance for any newbie mistakes. Reviews would be very much appreciated. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. This fic is about characters from the TV show The Lying Game, not the books, and features spanking, including parental spanking of a teenager. If that's not your thing, please move right along.**

Chapter 9

"Did you think he was joking?" Ethan couldn't quite believe what he was hearing.

"To be completely honest with you, I thought he might be – and I wanted to check," Sutton said.

"You mean you wanted to see how far you could push him?"

"I mean I wanted to check he would actually bother to go through with it."

So Sutton _did_ crave consequences, then. Ethan was starting to believe there might be some hope for her, after all. That there could be a nice person lurking behind the obnoxious brat they all knew and, well, tolerated, he thought as Sutton continued her story.

Ted had said: "Sutton, is this some kind of joke? Because I'm not kidding. Either you apologise now, or you're going to wish you had."

"I'm not kidding either," Sutton said. Her dad eyed her warily, clearly worried about how she was going to react. Perhaps he thought she was going to wait until he'd got started, then scream blue murder. "I think..." she swallowed, amazed at what she was actually about to say. "I think maybe you should do this. I think it would be a good idea."

Ted looked stunned. "I happen to agree with you there, but I can't quite believe what I'm hearing. I figure you're trying to make me feel bad. Maybe you think that, by acting all sweet and remorseful, you can convince me not to bother following through. But I've had enough, Sutton. Enough of feeling afraid of my own child – and you are still a child, whether you like it or not. Enough of being terrorised in my own home. So if you hoped I was going to back down on this, well, I'm afraid it's not your lucky day."

"Stand up," Ted commanded, walking over to the bed. He looked surprised when Sutton did exactly that.

Ted sat down in the spot she'd just vacated and, before she knew what was happening, he had grabbed hold of her arm and gently but firmly tipped her over his lap. She let out a faint whimper of protest as he lifted up her skirt, but didn't move to stop him. Her underwear wasn't going to offer much protection, she realised. Clearly she was losing her mind agreeing to this.

"If we're going to do this, we may as well do it properly," Ted said, and with that he took hold of Sutton's underpants and pulled them down to her knees. Yep – she was definitely losing her mind. Imagine if her friends could see her now! She must look absolutely ridiculous. Although she had a feeling Mads wouldn't find it particularly funny.

"Last chance, Sutton. You can say sorry now and stop this. Your choice. Are you going to apologise?"

"No," Sutton said. "I'm not."

"Well, then you leave me no choice," Ted said, and he brought the hairbrush down on Sutton's bare backside with a loud _whack_.

Sutton thought she'd be tougher, but she couldn't help it – she cried out. That little hairbrush looked so harmless, but it hit her bare backside with one hell of a sting.

The hairbrush came down again and Sutton squirmed, trying not to cry out. And that's when the door flew open and Laurel came bursting in.

"What the _hell_ are you doing?"

"Something I should have done a long time ago," Ted said. "But this is a private discussion, Laurel. Please leave and close the door behind you."

Sutton thought Laurel would be pleased to see her older sister suffering. After all, Sutton didn't exactly make Laurel's life easy. But Laurel didn't move.

"I don't know what you think you're doing, but if you don't stop right now I'm calling the police."


	10. Chapter 10

**This is my first fic so apologies in advance for any newbie mistakes. Reviews would be very much appreciated. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. This fic is about characters from the TV show The Lying Game, not the books, and features spanking, including parental spanking of a teenager. If that's not your thing, please move right along.**

Chapter 10

"So that was that," Sutton said.

"She didn't call the police?"

"No, she didn't call the police. And she didn't tell Mom either, because I asked her not to."

Ethan was surprised at that. "Why didn't you want her to tell your mom?"

"Because she would have been really mad at him – even though I basically asked him to do it," Sutton said, almost in a whisper. "Laurel kept saying I was lucky she'd come in right then, and I didn't know how to tell her that, well... I wished she hadn't. I think it would have been better if – well – if he'd finished the job."

"He never tried to?" Ethan asked.

"God, no. I think Laurel spooked him. He apologised to both of us, said he had lost his rag and he was sorry. I told Laurel not to tell anyone, or mention it again, if she knew what was good for her. And that was it, basically."

"Did you ever apologise to your dad?"

Sutton swallowed. This was something she had never expected to tell anyone, ever. "Yeah, actually, I did. A few days later, when I managed to get him on his own – he was kind of avoiding me, so that took a bit of effort. I told him I was sorry, and... actually, never mind."

"You can't leave me hanging like that," Ethan said. He figured Sutton wouldn't tell him the rest, but she continued after a pause.

"I told him I appreciated what he had tried to do – and said it was just a shame he hadn't had the guts to finish the job. Then I walked out. I guess I've been trying to goad him into finishing what he started ever since, but he's never taken the bait."

Ethan shook his head. Only Sutton Mercer could mouth off to a parent after they'd tried to spank her.

"You really didn't learn anything from that experience, did you?" he sighed.

"So, what? You're going to teach me a lesson, are you?"

"Actually," said Ethan, "I was thinking of doing just that."


End file.
